Citroen Ami 8 Review from Argentina

1974 Citroen Ami 8 602 cm3

Summary:

Comfortable, economic, beautiful... unsuccessful

Faults:

CV joints replaced.

Rusty floors. One time after riding on a rough street, the body cracked open. I got out of the car and couldn't close the door, the front of the car had moved 5 cm ahead on the driver's side!!... Luckily, this car has a chassis.

Couldn't get rid of tires bumping up and down at more than 80 km/h, even changing shocks, tires...

Tricky 2nd gear.

General Comments:

Only left me down one time. I just got her out of the mechanic, and he had left the carburetor filling valve badly set.

It started every time: cold, hot, wet weather.

Front cranking windows make springtime rides a pleasure.

It's a lot more comfortable than any 2CV or Dyane. Front and rear passengers always fell asleep going back home from the disco...

The rear folding seat is very practical for luggage, a little longer than a R4, but lower.

Great driver ergonomics for a car that old and of that level.

Zips fuel like any 2CV, but has a 2 barrel carburetor that pumps a couple of extra HP when needed (you feel the 2nd barrel opening because the pedal gets harder).

Parts are very cheap and still available here in Argentina (Citroen left the country in 1980, but a lot of them are still running).

14th Apr 2007, 09:39

4th Aug 2010, 06:07

Living in Stockholm, Sweden, I had a beige estate between 1973 and 1976. Bought it at 25,000 km and sold it 60,000 km later. It provided exceptional space, comfort and economy at the time, although at the expense of a high noise level. It even had a reasonable turn of speed with 32 hp from the 602 cc engine. I remember averaging 90 km/h with a full load and skis on the roof on a 600 km country road trip up to central Sweden at temperatures approaching -20 C.

Air-cooled cars were renowned for miserable heating, but thanks to the standard-mounted Eberspächer auxiliary heater, keeping warm and cosy was no issue.

The car was on its standard Michelin X tyres, which gave astounding grip, even on wet ice. I also remember being forced to stop on wet black ice on a hill. I got out of the car and had to hold on to it not to slip away. After a couple of minutes, the road cleared and this amazing car easily pulled away up that gradient.

After 3 years, a couple of rust bubbles started to appear in odd places, and I discovered that this was starting to happen all over the car. The grade of steel, although properly rust-proofed from the start, was sadly unable to cope with the tough and salty winter climate in Stockholm.

In 1976, I swapped to a Saab 99, 1969, which was a nice driving machine, but lacking a lot of the charms of the Ami 8.